The Dallas Morning News reports, “Jamie Balagia was found guilty of wire fraud, obstruction and other charges after a two-week trial in connection with his representation of Colombian drug traffickers”
First up here are our two reports on him from 2017
Jamie Balagia, a veteran Austin lawyer who made a name for himself defending people charged with drunken driving, was convicted Tuesday of federal corruption charges in connection with his scheme to shake down international drug traffickers.
Balagia, 62, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit money laundering, obstruction of justice, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and attempting to violate the Kingpin Act for accepting money from men whom the feds designated as significant drug traffickers without official government permission.
The jury deliberated for about a day and a half following the two-week trial in the Eastern District of Texas in Sherman before U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant. Jurors agreed with prosecutors that Balagia and his cohorts scammed Colombian drug traffickers out of about $1.5 million by claiming to use their connections to pay off U.S. officials to get their cases dropped.
Balagia faces up to 30 years in prison. He was taken into custody after the verdict was read. A sentencing date was not immediately available.
Balagia ran in 2014 for Texas attorney general on a Libertarian platform of legalizing marijuana. He called himself the “DWI Dude” for his expertise and once arrived for a hearing in Plano with a Winnebago decorated with his image and the advertising slogan, “Busted? Call the Dude!”
Sherman, an hour north of Dallas, has become a hot spot for prosecuting Colombian drug traffickers in recent years. Ernest Gonzalez, a lead prosecutor who has become a national expert in such cases, never heard of Balagia when the Austin lawyer suddenly appeared on a federal court docket as the defense attorney for Colombians indicted in a big case.
The case featured three men whom agents called the world’s biggest cocaine producers and who were a key link between Colombia’s cocaine fields and violent Mexican drug cartels. They reportedly used submarines to transport the cocaine and paid guerrilla fighters to protect their drug labs hidden in the mountains.
Balagia was arrested in 2017 after showing up at the Collin County jail to meet with a client who was believed to be one of the Colombian drug traffickers.
His two co-defendants in the case already pleaded guilty and are serving federal prison sentences. Chuck Morgan, 82, his investigator, and Bibiana Correa Perea, a Colombian lawyer, both testified during the trial.
Balagia’s initial defense attorney, Daphne Silverman, said in court filings that Morgan was working for the DEA as a secret informant whose job it was to lure Colombian fugitives to the U.S. by getting them to cooperate.
“Through its own investigation, defense counsel has learned that Mr. Morgan has in the past worked … for the CIA in various capacities starting with piloting aircraft for the CIA in Vietnam and then leading to bringing potential clients to lawyers with a goal of having the clients cooperate with the government,” one of her court filings said.
Morgan’s military records supported “his assertions that he flew for the CIA in Vietnam,” the filing said.
But Mazzant granted the government’s motion to keep Morgan’s background out of the trial on the grounds that it was irrelevant to the charges against Balagia.
“This defendant and his group were running a scam on drug dealers – some of the biggest drug dealers in the world,” U.S. Attorney Joe Brown said in a statement. “Fortunately for him, these drug dealers chose to turn him into the FBI rather than handle it any other way. It is important for the American justice system that we prosecute those who represent that the justice system is for sale.
“The Colombians, and criminals in every other country that we deal with, need to understand things don’t work that way in the United States,” Brown said. “When we have lawyers representing that officials can be bought, we take that very seriously.”
Balagia’s current defense lawyers were appointed to the case just weeks before trial, after Silverman had to withdraw due to worsening health from cancer.
Gaylon Runnels and Matthew Hamilton asked the judge for more time to prepare, but Mazzant refused to delay the trial any longer, pointing out that multiple continuances had already been granted.
The lawyers issued the following statement: “We are disappointed with the outcome of the case. However we are very thankful for the jury’s time, and their careful deliberations. We believe there will be an appeal.”
Balagia took the witness stand in his own defense and told jurors he was duped and manipulated by Morgan and Perea on what were his first international drug conspiracy cases. He also said he didn’t understand that accepting cash payments in small deposits and in bags handed off in parking lots was considered money laundering.
Paying off officials
Balagia worked as an Austin police officer from 1979 to 1990. He’s been a licensed attorney in Texas since 1992 and has a second office in San Antonio.
Morgan recruited him to take the cases of three Colombians who were indicted in Sherman in 2013 and were awaiting extradition to the U.S., according to trial testimony.
Hermes Casanova Ordonez and two brothers, Segundo Villota Segura and Aldemar Villota Segura, were charged along with more than a dozen others in a large cocaine trafficking conspiracy, according to court records.
Perea’s job was to secure an American lawyer to help Segundo Segura, a court filing said. Perea, who handles extradition cases, recommended Morgan and Morgan recommended Balagia, court records show.
Perea, known as “Bibi,” hired Morgan for the job because he claimed to have a long history of working for U.S. agencies like the FBI, DEA and Homeland Security Investigations, according to court documents.
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Balagia, Perea and Morgan in 2014 told the three Colombians they could have their charges reduced or dismissed in exchange for a seven-figure sum, court documents show. They said they would use some of the money to bribe “high-profile” U.S. officials, according to government evidence.
Balagia met with Segundo Segura at La Picota Prison in Bogota, Colombia, in December 2015 along with Perea and Morgan, the indictment said. During the meeting, which was taped, Segundo Segura pressed them for details.
“Now Segundo, you know I would never expose anyone,” Morgan told him. “When we get into this, it gets very messy. As you know, the lawyer has to stay very, very clean.”
Balagia said during the meeting that anonymity was important and, “By doing it the way that we’re doing it … it gives me the ability to close my ears sometimes if I need to, and it protects all of us.”
Segundo’s brother, Aldemar, was extradited to the U.S. and agreed to cooperate with authorities who were investigating Balagia and his associates, prosecutors say.
Aldemar Segura met with Balagia and Morgan at the Collin County jail in October 2016 to discuss payments, court records show. The meeting was taped. Segura persuaded the pair to also meet with his bookkeeper and personal representative, who was an undercover FBI agent, court records show.
In November 2016, the undercover FBI agent met with Morgan at a North Texas restaurant to deliver a $300,000 partial payment, court records say. Morgan was arrested when he took a suitcase full of cash from the agent’s vehicle, records show.
“The defendant used his position as an attorney to not only steal from drug lords, but also to sell out the U.S. justice system in order to line his own pockets,” Matthew J. DeSarno, FBI special agent in charge of the Dallas Field Office, said in a statement. “The FBI prioritizes all cases of public corruption and we will continue to hold these officials accountable for using their positions to benefit financially.”
Aldemar Segura and Ordonez pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges and were given lengthy prison terms. But because they cooperated with authorities in the government’s criminal case against Balagia, they stand to benefit from reduced sentences.
Segundo Segura remains in a Colombian prison, where he continues to fight extradition to the U.S. by claiming membership with FARC, a rebel group that has special protections in that country.
This report was updated to include a comment from the defense lawyers.
